{"id":41574,"date":"2014-07-13T10:02:57","date_gmt":"2014-07-13T04:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=41574"},"modified":"2026-10-11T16:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T11:12:08","slug":"optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/","title":{"rendered":"Optimize Legibility in CSS: text-rendering and Readability Tips (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Can one line of CSS make your articles easier to read? In 2014 we tried <code>text-rendering: optimizeLegibility<\/code> on QuickOnlineTips and saw tighter, cleaner headlines. In 2026 the property still works, but browsers now do much of this automatically, and newer CSS features help readability even more. Here is how to <strong>optimize legibility<\/strong> of text on your website today.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-63931\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimize-legibility-css-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"Optimize legibility CSS text-rendering\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimize-legibility-css-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimize-legibility-css-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimize-legibility-css-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimize-legibility-css-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/optimize-legibility-css.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> <code>text-rendering: optimizeLegibility<\/code> tells the browser to turn on kerning and ligatures for nicer letter spacing. Modern browsers already kern most text, so use it mainly on headings. For real readability gains, use a 16 to 18px font size, 1.5 to 1.7 line height, lines of about 65 characters, strong contrast, and <code>text-wrap: balance<\/code> or <code>pretty<\/code>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acc3d8d28fb1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acc3d8d28fb1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#What_does_optimizeLegibility_do\" >What does optimizeLegibility do?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#How_to_optimize_legibility_with_CSS\" >How to optimize legibility with CSS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#Is_optimizeLegibility_still_needed_in_2026\" >Is optimizeLegibility still needed in 2026?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#Better_ways_to_increase_readability\" >Better ways to increase readability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#Example_readable_article_CSS\" >Example: readable article CSS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#Does_optimizeLegibility_affect_SEO\" >Does optimizeLegibility affect SEO?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#Does_optimizeLegibility_slow_down_a_website\" >Does optimizeLegibility slow down a website?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/optimize-legibility-to-increase-readability\/#What_is_the_difference_between_kerning_and_letter-spacing\" >What is the difference between kerning and letter-spacing?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_optimizeLegibility_do\"><\/span>What does optimizeLegibility do?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The CSS <code>text-rendering<\/code> property gives the browser a hint about what matters most when drawing text:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>optimizeLegibility:<\/strong> prefer readability. Enables kerning (adjusting space between pairs of letters like &#8220;T&#8221; and &#8220;w&#8221;) and optional ligatures (joining letters like &#8220;fi&#8221;).<\/li>\n<li><strong>optimizeSpeed:<\/strong> prefer rendering speed. Turns these features off.<\/li>\n<li><strong>geometricPrecision:<\/strong> prefer exact font shapes, useful when scaling text.<\/li>\n<li><strong>auto:<\/strong> the browser decides. This is the default.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In our 2014 test, the browser tucked the &#8220;w&#8221; closer under the &#8220;T&#8221; in &#8220;Tweet&#8221;. This is not the same as <code>letter-spacing<\/code>, which changes the space between all letters by a fixed amount.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_optimize_legibility_with_CSS\"><\/span>How to optimize legibility with CSS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<pre><code>h1, h2, h3 {\n  text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>You can apply it to <code>body<\/code>, but on very long pages it used to slow rendering on older phones. Applying it to headings gives the visual benefit where it shows most.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_optimizeLegibility_still_needed_in_2026\"><\/span>Is optimizeLegibility still needed in 2026?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Less than before. Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge now kern text by default in most cases. For direct control, many developers use these properties instead:<\/p>\n<pre><code>body {\n  font-kerning: normal;\n  font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;\n  font-optical-sizing: auto;\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Better_ways_to_increase_readability\"><\/span>Better ways to increase readability<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Font size:<\/strong> use at least 16px for body text, and 17 to 18px for long articles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Line height:<\/strong> 1.5 to 1.7 gives lines room to breathe.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Line length:<\/strong> keep lines to about 60 to 75 characters with <code>max-width: 65ch<\/code> on the content area.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Contrast:<\/strong> aim for at least 4.5:1 between text and background. Avoid pale grey text, and see how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/09\/fix-light-text-on-dark-background\/\">fix light text on dark backgrounds<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Balanced headings:<\/strong> <code>text-wrap: balance<\/code> evens out the lines of a heading so you do not get one lonely word on the last line.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Better paragraphs:<\/strong> <code>text-wrap: pretty<\/code> avoids single-word last lines in paragraphs in browsers that support it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Web fonts:<\/strong> choose a readable font and load it efficiently. Here is how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/10\/load-google-web-fonts-faster\/\">load Google Web Fonts faster<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Example_readable_article_CSS\"><\/span>Example: readable article CSS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<pre><code>.entry-content {\n  max-width: 65ch;\n  font-size: 1.125rem;\n  line-height: 1.65;\n  color: #1f2933;\n  text-wrap: pretty;\n}\n.entry-content h2 {\n  text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;\n  text-wrap: balance;\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_optimizeLegibility_affect_SEO\"><\/span>Does optimizeLegibility affect SEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not directly. But easier reading keeps visitors on the page longer, which helps your site overall.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_optimizeLegibility_slow_down_a_website\"><\/span>Does optimizeLegibility slow down a website?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>On modern devices the effect is tiny. Apply it to headings if you are worried about long pages.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_difference_between_kerning_and_letter-spacing\"><\/span>What is the difference between kerning and letter-spacing?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Kerning adjusts specific letter pairs using data in the font. Letter-spacing adds or removes the same space between every letter.<\/p>\n<p>What CSS tricks do you use to make text easier to read? Share in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can one line of CSS make your articles easier to read? In 2014 we tried text-rendering: optimizeLegibility on QuickOnlineTips and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41574"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63932,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41574\/revisions\/63932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}